


Sanctuary

by Umbr_el_on



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M, POV Sylvain Jose Gautier, Sylvain and Claude experience the mortifying ordeal of being known
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25873327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbr_el_on/pseuds/Umbr_el_on
Summary: Sylvain felt yet another note slipped into his jacket pocket, prompting a gentle smile to break out over his face. Sylvain finished reading the paragraph of his textbook that he was highlighting before he acknowledged the disturbance. Sliding his hand into the soft cotton, Sylvain pulled out a folded index card. Sliding his thumb into the fold, the note popped open.“Dinner date after you’re done? ;)” The note had familiar looped handwriting in deep purple ink, and Sylvain chuckled.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	Sanctuary

Sylvain felt yet another note slipped into his jacket pocket, prompting a gentle smile to break out over his face. Sylvain finished reading the paragraph of his textbook that he was highlighting before he acknowledged the disturbance. Sliding his hand into the soft cotton, Sylvain pulled out a folded index card. Sliding his thumb into the fold, the note popped open.

_ “Dinner date after you’re done? ;)”  _ The note had familiar looped handwriting in deep purple ink, and Sylvain chuckled.

Turning in his seat, Sylvain threw the note at Claude, who added it to the pile of notes they’d passed throughout the evening. They both chuckled, earning a distant shush from another student. Their smiles and sparkling eyes endured after their noise faded out. Sylvain gave Claude a nod and a wink before he turned back to his textbook.

The paragraphs about thermodynamic properties weren’t as appealing now, not when the promise of dinner with Claude sat in Sylvain’s head. Even now, three months after their first awkward coffee outing, every opportunity to spend time together overtook Sylvain’s attention. Sighing without a hint of irritation, Sylvain closed his book and dumped all of his things into his backpack.

Claude took the hint and did the same, albeit with more care as he set his iPad back into its dedicated compartment. They rose from their chairs in unison, slinging their bags over their shoulders and walking a little too close together. Sylvain felt a flash of concern about how they looked to everyone else, but his worry dissipated when Claude brushed their arms together.

As soon as they were out of the library, Claude initiated a conversation with charming ease. “Just couldn’t wait to take me out, could you?”

Sylvain smirked, lowering his voice to a slight rasp. “You know I can’t resist you, Claude, even if I want to.”

“Well, I’m glad I’m more interesting than thermodynamics,” Claude said, straightening his posture and giving Sylvain more room to walk normally.

“I think most things are,” Sylvain scoffed. “Where do you want to get dinner?”

Claude shrugged. “Not sure. We could try the Dagdan place that just opened?”

Sylvain hummed in agreement. With the plan arranged, they fell into a steady walk and silent companionship. Sylvain marveled at it, at the way Claude made it feel okay to simply  _ exist _ . It was so easy, so magical that Sylvain found in himself the honest desire to never let it go. It was terrifying, but it was even more comforting.

“Hey,” Claude grabbed Sylvain’s hand with one of his own and squeezed, “don’t get trapped in your head.”

Sylvain squeezed back. “I’m just… happy.”

It was such a simple statement, but somehow, Claude always seemed to understand the weight behind it. Some day, Sylvain would tell him everything. Some day, Claude would know about Sylvain’s family. Some day, Sylvain would bare his scars willingly for the first time. But today, he could forget about all of those things. Today, he could enjoy a dinner date with his boyfriend in a town where nobody knew more than he wanted them to know.

Claude leaned over and pecked Sylvain’s cheek. “Me too,” he said, and Sylvain understood the depth of his words, too.

They rounded a corner and stood in front of a few blocks densely packed with shops and restaurants. It was the heart of campus, especially on weekend evenings. The crowds of people milling about prompted Sylvain to hold Claude a little tighter, but the gesture was accepted without question as they started towards their destination.

The restaurant was only a few businesses deep, so it wasn’t too hard to wiggle through the masses to get there. Ducking inside, they found the restaurant packed and lively. Trivia games took over half the TVs, while the other half tuned in to various sports games. Sylvain smiled, eager to join in and play some trivia.

“Table for two?” A waitress walked over and started gathering menus from her station.

“Yes, thank you,” Claude answered, beaming.

The waitress nodded and led them to a small table in the far corner. It was pushed right up against the wall, but Sylvain could still see two of the trivia TVs from where he sat. Judging by Claude’s gaze, he could see one, too. The waitress muttered a thank you to them as she set the menus down. As soon as she was gone, Claude leaned over the table with a devilish grin.

“Oh, I think I forgot to mention that the winner of each round of trivia gets two free drinks. Shall we play?”

Sylvain mirrored Claude’s expression. Pulling their phones out, they tapped their way into the trivia waiting room. The next round was five minutes away, just enough time for them to order and settle in. Scanning over the menu, Sylvain knew exactly what he wanted as soon as he saw it. Claude browsed longer, but he also set the menu down after just a moment.

“Are you ready to order?” The waitress had her pen and pad out as soon as she’d set down the glasses of water she’d brought, smiling lightly.

Claude gestured for Sylvain to start, so he gathered up the menus and held them up for the waitress to grab. “I’ll have the spicy fish stew.”

After pausing to let the waitress write that down, Claude gave his order. “I’ll take the pickled vegetable wrap.”

The waitress wrote down Claude’s order and nodded, smiling and walking away to ring it in. The timer on Sylvain’s phone read three minutes. Setting it back down, Sylvain leaned back into his chair.

“We’re going to smell like fish and vinegar for the rest of the night,” he chuckled.

Claude shrugged. “I’m not trying to impress anyone. Are you?”

Sylvain froze for a moment before he smoothed himself over again. “Just you,” he whispered, looking down at his black phone screen.

Claude sputtered on his sip of water, apparently caught off guard. Sylvain felt the same, the uncharacteristic honesty leaving his tongue resting awkwardly in his mouth. Still, it felt  _ good _ to say what he meant. Once Claude finished wiping his face off and coughing, he looked at Sylvain with an expression Sylvain couldn’t quite identify.

They stayed like that for long enough that Sylvain started to squirm under the attention. He tried to think of what to say, but nothing came. Claude’s face softened as the staredown continued, and Sylvain started to melt in response.

“Thank you, Sylvain, but you don’t need to impress me. I’m already here.” Claude gestured at the table, as if to verify that he was indeed present.

Sylvain relaxed, feeling the knot in his gut release. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something else that would embarrass him, but the trivia buzzer going off interrupted. They both snatched up their phones and typed in their usual team name, “Men2Boys” and finalized their entry.

Sylvain wondered what he’d been about to say. Perhaps some quip about how smooth and lovely Claude was without even trying. They both knew what they had was good, and whatever it was probably just affirmed that. This was easy, with understanding too deep for a normal three-month relationship, yet it didn’t push Sylvain away to feel so deeply seen. Sitting there, watching Claude study their trivia opponents while they waited for their stinky dinners to be brought out, Sylvain knew he wanted this to grow and last.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [Twitter!](https://mobile.twitter.com/umbr_el_on) ✨💕


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